I took the short option, along with Chris, Kathy, Gail, and Shelley. Yes, we got wet, too. The storm rolled in quickly, and we could tell that the long distance riders were likely to encounter rain. From the morning's forecast, it looked like we had plenty of time to ride before the storm landed, but it didn't turn out that way.
Even so, I had a great ride.
–Keith
By Allan Edmonds
Over 30 riders gathered at Bryan Park on a perfect May Saturday morning. Mike Finger got us organized on this ride that turned out leaderless because the scheduled leader was out of town for the weekend. We decided on regrouping after crossing 37 and again at the turn from Rockport onto Rockport East, and stopping only at the store in Cincinnati where 54 and 45 intersect.
As usual we naturally fell into riding groups. Around 10 people left the main route for the 30 mile short option. They took Harmony Road off of Rockport, heading north at that point, eventually reaching Vernal Pike.
The rest of us continued on to Cincinnati. As usual more than one person remarked that they hadn’t known there is a Cincinnati, INDIANA. Indeed, it doesn’t rate a name on the map above. And you don’t find much through Google: http://indiana.hometownlocator.com/in/greene/cincinnati.cfm At the park we had discussed the state of Rockport East, which last year was in bad condition. We can report that it is absolutely terrible. Perhaps the worst excuse for a paved road that I have ridden on.
At the stop in Cincinnati we all got a bit nervous about the ominous weather with a little thunder in the distance. One rider used his smartphone to check out the weather map and found an active thunderstorm at Bloomfield, 10 or 15 miles away. We all took off pretty quickly at that point.
Pretty soon the rain came. It was never hard, but we did get wet and uncomfortable. Our little group of 5 never stopped again more than for a few moments of regrouping. After Solsberry the rain was never more than a sprinkle.
Considering that the morning seemed almost perfect it was something of a downer to have the rain. I suppose the temperature was in the upper 50s, which wasn’t too uncomfortable.
We do wonder whether the short route riders made it home without getting wet.
I had some great adventures on my metallic green Schwinn with a banana seat as a kid. Maybe they'll make a come-back?
Keith
Chris Tietz put it nicely at the meeting when he said "the world changed around us." My thanks to everyone for putting their heads together to find solutions. By taking action, I know both the BBC and TRIRI will continue to prosper for many years to come.
Keith V.
well written summary! Jim Schroeder
For over 10 years the only BBC club meetings have consisted of board meetings every month or two or three, and the annual meeting (usually combined with a social event in the off-season), plus the pool party we’ve had in August for several years.
Saturday evening, May 8, at 5:30 pm the membership of the BBC convened in a special meeting called, according to club by-laws, by a petition of members. The meeting took place in the social hall of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church on the By-Pass. Approximately 25 club members were in attendance.
The original purpose of the meeting was to consider how the relationship between the BBC and TRIRI (Touring Ride in Rural Indiana) could or should be maintained into the future. More generally it was to discuss what kinds of events with paid admission the club can sponsor, under what conditions the club can arrange with vendors to manage such events, to discuss the ways such activities further the stated goals of the club, and how the funds of the club should be used in support of such activities.
As it happened, the purpose of the meeting was largely moot because of a decision of the board of directors, meeting the night before. At that meeting there was an amicably-arrived-at decision to move toward severing the historical relationship between the BBC and TRIRI. For now rides already scheduled for this season will continue, but the club and Joe and Barbara Anderson, long-time directors of TRIRI and the related September Escapade and RAINStorm rides, will negotiate a separation, to be concluded no later than December 31, 2010. Joe Anderson will continue to serve as ride director for the Ride Across Indiana this summer.
Issues still to be negotiated involve bank balances, shared equipment, equipment storage, shared publicity, and probably other issues.
In view of the board decision the official petition was withdrawn. Thus the meeting was largely informational. However there was still an extended discussion. In particular Joe Anderson had an opportunity to express his concerns and to educate the club on some of the larger contributions TRIRI has made to furthering the BBC goals of promoting bicycling in Indiana.
As members may have understood from voluminous email exchanges in the last few weeks, the fundamental issue has been the tax exempt status of our organization and whether TRIRI and its associated rides are or can be compatible with increased IRS standards for tax exempt organizations.
Once the board became aware of the potential for being found in violation it became imperative to take some action.
Most club members have also realized that this has been an issue fraught with possibilities for misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and mistrust. Indeed it was seemingly necessary to have a couple of lawyers involved to bring the process to a reasonable conclusion.
The BBC board of directors and Joe and Barbara Anderson as directors of TRIRI still have much work to do to effect the agreed upon separation of these entities but now all parties seem to be on the same page and working toward the same goals.
In the meantime TRIRI and RAIN will continue. And we all can do what we joined the club to do: Ride our bicycles!
From Joe Anderson
Reprinted from the December 1995 BBC Newsletter with slight modifications.
The first BBC member to call Joe Anderson at 332-6028 with the correct name of this “Mystery ride,” based upon the following clues, will receive a prize.
The Mystery Ride
South on an ancient road:
1. (Name that road)
Right at a burg named after a biblical king:
2. (Name that burg)
Cross into a county named after a famous bird:
3. (Name that bird)
Cross the abandoned narrow gauge B&O railroad:
4. (Name that railroad)
West on State Road (Al Abbott’s age):
5. (Name that State Road)
Northeast along “Mystery” Creek:
6. (Name that Creek)
SAG and Refreshment stop at “Mystery” church:
7. (Name that church)
Continue north on “Mystery” road:
8. (Name that road)
North to Alaska on a cold weather road:
9. (Name that road)
East on a rocky road at a stop sign:
10. (Name that road)
North to your home port on another rocky road:
11. (That that road)
Pass through a village named after the Star Trek Captain:
12. (Name that village)
Back to Bloomington on a pike named after the Michigan Fight Song:
13. (Name that tune)
Turn right at a T-Intersection at the top of a hill:
14. (Name that road)
Using these thirteen clues:
15. (Name that “Mystery Ride”)
16. (Name that prize)
By Jodi Pope-Pfingston
It has been lots of fun meeting and riding with new and returning riders on the Slowspokes rides. Ten to fifteen riders embark each Saturday at 1:30 pm to ride 15-20 miles around Monroe County, many for the first time in their lives. I knew it would be a great venue for attracting and keeping new riders, and it has been exactly that. What I didn’t expect is that it would be a source of inspiration that would get my own family out cycling together every Saturday. But, indeed it has.
Two of my older brothers, a nephew, and my sister-in-law have all joined my husband and I on the last three Saturday rides. In fact, they have all caught the bug so thoroughly that they now indulge my riding whims on multiple nights of the week and bug me to show them new routes.
Last Saturday, along with a few other friends, we all ventured out for a ride to the Waterworks. This was a special event for me and my two brothers because we grew up in a house near the Waterworks. On the ride out we laughed about how many times we had ridden the route from home to Buddy Bills as children on our bicycles tricked out with banana seats and spokes full of playing cards, all for the promise of soft drinks and candy. The banana seats and playing cards are gone, and we have added helmets, but we still love riding bicycles together. Although it will take some time before they share my taste in hills. 🙂
As of May 4th I would consider the bridge to really be out on Rockport. It could be crossed in an emergency by foot, but I would not advise it(I turned around and rode back up those hills).
Glenn Berger
It was a cool spring afternoon for a ride, with temperatures in the 50s. We had a good group of 19 OWLS, including one for whom it was his first ride with the club and a couple others for whom this was their first OWLS ride of the season. We had intended to do a loop south on Victor to Rockport and back to town via Rockport to That Road, and so on. But Rockport is closed somewhere between Victor and Tramway, ostensibly because of a bridge out. Therefore we planned an out-and-back on Victor instead. At the spot where Victor tees into Rockport we tried to persuade a few people to ride down to inspect the bridge situation and report back whether a cyclist, perhaps on foot, could get through. But no one was up for the challenge and the risk of having to retrace a couple of miles of steep hill climb. So we still don’t know the true situation on Rockport.
We had no official leader. Fortunately CE was aware of the bridge outage and went over the options before we left SOCCPL.
Overall it was a typical OWLS ride at an average pace of just under 13 mph, on a route with some substantial hills. Total climb was recorded at around 1300 feet.
